User blog:SirAston/Lore Supervisor talks about lore 1
Well, I just wanted to talk about the current state of VotE's lore... Given the nature of MOBA-games, it's obvious that lore doesn't really have a good place to begin with because the fight "resets" with each new match and heroes can be on both sides of a battle, even arch-rivals being able and capable of covering each other's back. Heck, a / duo lane might even work pretty well. I initially handwaved it by mentioning in passing that the battle for the Prime Gate is basically confusing in itself and people switch sides all the time because of personal reasons, being mercenaries, being undecided in whom to follow or plain simple brainwashing/converting. It still doesn't explain how a Duskbringer would ever fight for the Empire, but it seemed like the best method at the time, given the problems with lore for MOBA. Naturally, with every new playable character, the situation gets more and more complicated and the handwave becomes more and more "hole-y". Pretty sure I disregarded said handwave at least one time for the sake of telling a character's story, which I perceive as more important and more fun. So, why should I bother writing lore for a genre that's nigh-impossible to have consistent fluff? Currently, my solution would be to declare the actual game a "Free For All Battle Royale", meaning that everything that happens within the game doesn't affect the lore in the slightest. Kinda like how Super Smash Bros. doesn't affect what happens in the respective franchises represented in that crossover-franchise. Which kinda means that creating a lore specifically for such a game is kinda pointless to begin with. In a way, it was pointless even before my solution for the MOBA lore-dilemma''*. There a big BUT, though. While the lore seems pointless, it can still be used for other means. Fleshing out the world would make a fine setting for a Pen & Paper-RPG (and some know that I'm already playing around with the idea of an "After the War"-setting). Plus, some people tend to like to know more about their favourite characters and that one is a valid reason to have some personal lore for those characters, at least for me. Ultimatively, in my eyes, it's not THAT bad if a game and its lore are somewhat detached because of reasons. I'm saying that we should go for the solution I've presented above so we can focus on making decent stories without having to worry about the implications, impact and possible segregation of story and gameplay. But I guess we're already doing that when creating a character's background XD '*''' Lore for a MOBA being inherently pointless is debateable, though. Even if there is no background story to a playable character, he is defined beyond mere numbers by his appearance, design and abilities and it's easy to identify that character with an archetype. This is more important than one would think because a fitting archetype to a kit not only is fun, but also enhances the ability to transmit information quickly, which is kinda important in any fast-paced game. After all, if you see a desperado-style character with a six-shooter, a poncho and a visible 5 o'clock shadow, there are some expectations, like fanning/sliding the revolver hammer, some mechanical representation of grit, being great in ranged combat and having a lack of team support (because the gritty pistolero is "always" a lone wolf). A desperado-style character suddenly whipping out a rapier without forewarning would just confuse the players and make it hard to tell his purpose via first impression. Category:Blog posts